Our last day in Nova Scotia was very bitter-sweet. While we had some of the best food of the entire trip, the weather was still quite bizarre, our flight was at a ridiculous time, and we spent much of our day attempting to kill time with no hotel room available as a fall back. Weird ...
Our morning coffee was taken at a cute, little place called The Daily Grind. It was quiet, on a side-street, but the decor was fabulous. Part way through our morning cappuccinos we decided that Pavia won the coffee award, but this was definitely my favourite space to just kick back and enjoy the coffee. After coffee we ventured back to the mall where the NSLC (provincial liquor store) was selling Seafever coffee-maple rum from Guysborough, NS and a Scotch-style single-malt whiskey aged in ice wine barrels from Glen Breton in Cape Breton, NS. We'd spotted them earlier in our trip and decided on-the-spot to bring some home, they sounded way too interesting to leave behind.
On the recommendation of some readers (we have readers, yay!) we sought out The Maxwell's Plum for lunch. After we'd been told to try and find it we spotted some advertising for it in the downtown pedway, their slogans are quite sassy including: "1% fancy, 99% beer" and "1 waitress with a fine arts degree, over 99 beers". How do we not try this place?!? Anyway, we managed to locate it (yes, Colleen, it is indeed on a hill), thanks to Google maps. There were too many beers on tap to choose just one to try so we both opted for sampler flights. I went with the Big Spruce Brewing from Cape Breton: Bitter Get'er India Black IPA, Kitchen Party Pale Ale, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, and Ready Your Knot Regatta Red Ale. Mark opted for the Propeller Brewing from right here in Halifax: Bohemian Style Pilsner, Honey Wheat Ale, IPA, and London Style Porter.
Our morning coffee was taken at a cute, little place called The Daily Grind. It was quiet, on a side-street, but the decor was fabulous. Part way through our morning cappuccinos we decided that Pavia won the coffee award, but this was definitely my favourite space to just kick back and enjoy the coffee. After coffee we ventured back to the mall where the NSLC (provincial liquor store) was selling Seafever coffee-maple rum from Guysborough, NS and a Scotch-style single-malt whiskey aged in ice wine barrels from Glen Breton in Cape Breton, NS. We'd spotted them earlier in our trip and decided on-the-spot to bring some home, they sounded way too interesting to leave behind.
On the recommendation of some readers (we have readers, yay!) we sought out The Maxwell's Plum for lunch. After we'd been told to try and find it we spotted some advertising for it in the downtown pedway, their slogans are quite sassy including: "1% fancy, 99% beer" and "1 waitress with a fine arts degree, over 99 beers". How do we not try this place?!? Anyway, we managed to locate it (yes, Colleen, it is indeed on a hill), thanks to Google maps. There were too many beers on tap to choose just one to try so we both opted for sampler flights. I went with the Big Spruce Brewing from Cape Breton: Bitter Get'er India Black IPA, Kitchen Party Pale Ale, Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, and Ready Your Knot Regatta Red Ale. Mark opted for the Propeller Brewing from right here in Halifax: Bohemian Style Pilsner, Honey Wheat Ale, IPA, and London Style Porter.
Since the major draw for The Maxwell's Plum is their beer, the food menu is a little limited (especially if you're even thinking of GF eating) but the food prices are unbelievable! We split the sausages and sauerkraut and didn't even for a minute regret the sharing decision. It was enormous, especially considering the price we paid: $8.95 for two large sausages, a king-sized bed of sauerkraut and a pile of hand-cut fries. Delicious! The sausages had a little kick to them, but just enough to add to the flavour, not so much as to be all spice and no taste. The beers were all excellent, but I think the best ones were the Ready Your Knot Red from Big Spruce and the London Porter from Propeller. Although if you're looking for a nice, light-tasting beer without the chemical crap that comes from the larger brewers the Kitchen Party Pale Ale will definitely hit that spot.
We spent some time after lunch at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and, as stated on their website, "there’s no better place to immerse yourself in Nova Scotia’s rich maritime heritage than the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. From small craft boatbuilding to World War Convoys, the Days of Sail to the Age of Steam, the Titanic to the Halifax Explosion, you’ll discover the stories, events and people that have come to define Nova Scotia and its relationship with the sea." We would definitely agree with that assessment. It was quite fascinating to see the exhibits, I especially enjoyed the many artifacts washed ashore from shipwrecks, and reading the stories behind them, artifacts and wrecks both. My favourite quote, however, came in the Days of Sail exhibit when, while talking about the Bluenose, they stated that you can own an image of the Bluenose for only 10 cents. Made me laugh. After exploring the museum, considering the turn in the weather (snowy rain) and aching feet we settled in to Obladee Wine Bar. With just the right blend of coziness and sophistication and a wine list that is out of this world we settled in for some relaxation. The temptation we just could not resist is their "cellar ... uncorked" feature: each month they pull two wines from the cellar and pour them by-the-glass, what a fabulous way to enjoy a pricey wine without having to buy a full-bottle. The 2010 Chateau Aydie Madiran was too much temptation for us to pass up and it was well worth it! It also went amazingly well with the Chocolate board, which contained: Truffles - dark, ganache-filled, cocoa-dusted chocolates from Gourmandises Ave; Chocolate Goat’s Milk Fudge - rich, velvety fudge made with Ran-Cher Acres goat’s milk by Little Red Kitsch’n; and Espresso-Chocolate Rounds - fudgy mounds of espresso-infused chocolate, rolled oats & shredded coconut. The espresso-chocolate was definitely my favourite; and, while I could taste the goat in the fudge, Mark couldn't and enjoyed it immensely.
We spent some time after lunch at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and, as stated on their website, "there’s no better place to immerse yourself in Nova Scotia’s rich maritime heritage than the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. From small craft boatbuilding to World War Convoys, the Days of Sail to the Age of Steam, the Titanic to the Halifax Explosion, you’ll discover the stories, events and people that have come to define Nova Scotia and its relationship with the sea." We would definitely agree with that assessment. It was quite fascinating to see the exhibits, I especially enjoyed the many artifacts washed ashore from shipwrecks, and reading the stories behind them, artifacts and wrecks both. My favourite quote, however, came in the Days of Sail exhibit when, while talking about the Bluenose, they stated that you can own an image of the Bluenose for only 10 cents. Made me laugh. After exploring the museum, considering the turn in the weather (snowy rain) and aching feet we settled in to Obladee Wine Bar. With just the right blend of coziness and sophistication and a wine list that is out of this world we settled in for some relaxation. The temptation we just could not resist is their "cellar ... uncorked" feature: each month they pull two wines from the cellar and pour them by-the-glass, what a fabulous way to enjoy a pricey wine without having to buy a full-bottle. The 2010 Chateau Aydie Madiran was too much temptation for us to pass up and it was well worth it! It also went amazingly well with the Chocolate board, which contained: Truffles - dark, ganache-filled, cocoa-dusted chocolates from Gourmandises Ave; Chocolate Goat’s Milk Fudge - rich, velvety fudge made with Ran-Cher Acres goat’s milk by Little Red Kitsch’n; and Espresso-Chocolate Rounds - fudgy mounds of espresso-infused chocolate, rolled oats & shredded coconut. The espresso-chocolate was definitely my favourite; and, while I could taste the goat in the fudge, Mark couldn't and enjoyed it immensely.
During our stay at Obladee we solidified our plan for supper. Although I'd assumed we'd be hitting another pub this evening, Mark had other plans. The ad we'd seen on our tourist map for Bistro Le Coq caught his attention and the idea of having a really nice meal as a "farewell to Nova Scotia" appealed to me, too.
We wound our way through the hilly streets in search of this French gem and found it nestled in with a couple of other restaurants on a street we hadn't walked yet. We were greeted in French by a server, and fortunately we both know just enough to know that he said, "Good evening," and something along the lines of did we want a table. We were soon seated at a lovely, wood table for two, and managed to realize that the man who'd seated us asked how our evening was going (we really need to get a better handle on French). Fortunately, our server is primarily an English speaker so no need to decipher her questions. It being our last NS meal we splurged a little (okay, a lot) and ordered a '09 Chateau-Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse - I was slightly confused at first as it was listed under Bordeaux and the server told me it was a Chardonnay; but, then I remembered that it's from France and their wines are listed by region not varietal. Anyway, no skin off my nose, I love Chardonnays and Mark is learning to appreciate them. To make things better, it went perfectly with our shared appetizer of Scallop Tartare, with apple & tarragon creme fraiche. We have no idea how you do scallop tartare, trust me we discussed it, but it doesn't really matter because it was fantastic; and they clearly did it right because we didn't get food poisoning either ...
We'd decided before ordering our food to try their seasonally-inspired table d'hote menu, which is a 2 to 3 course option which changes regularly. Knowing our appetites and our inability to take leftovers we both opted for 2 courses, one of us ordered an appetizer and the other ordered dessert, makes sense. I've already mentioned the awesome scallop tartare as our appetizer. For main courses Mark had the cod with mushroom veloute, fried brandade, and parsnip puree; while I had flank with black curry sauce, roasted garlic and spinach puree, and duck fat fingerlings (shocking that I would order the dish that had both beef and duck fat potatoes, how unusual for me.) Both dishes were sublime, with an amazing variety of flavours that all worked together beautifully. The beef was perfectly cooked, medium-rare, and tender; always a concern. For dessert we had ... wait for it .... anyone guessed yet? Creme brulee! Okay was that really a surprise? French restaurant, my favourite dessert, no brainer. Their table d'hote version was ginger creme brulee with molasses shortbread and it was divine, just the right amount of ginger without being overwhelming, easy to do with ginger, and the shortbread was soft and delicious. We couldn't ask for a better dining experience to end our trip.
I would have happily gone to bed after this, I think Mark would have too, but our flight went out at 5 the next morning, meaning we needed to be up at 3 am, was there a point in paying for a night in a hotel? We went to "Unbroken", the WWII movie directed by Angelina Jolie about an Olympic athlete who winds up in a Japanese POW camp. It is a devastating movie to watch, as all these serious WWII movies are; but well filmed and acted, in my opinion. It was interesting to see a movie about the war being fought on the eastern side, as most of these movies are filmed in and about the German area.
Home in the wee hours ... never again will we fly home at 5 am, not if we can help it ...
We wound our way through the hilly streets in search of this French gem and found it nestled in with a couple of other restaurants on a street we hadn't walked yet. We were greeted in French by a server, and fortunately we both know just enough to know that he said, "Good evening," and something along the lines of did we want a table. We were soon seated at a lovely, wood table for two, and managed to realize that the man who'd seated us asked how our evening was going (we really need to get a better handle on French). Fortunately, our server is primarily an English speaker so no need to decipher her questions. It being our last NS meal we splurged a little (okay, a lot) and ordered a '09 Chateau-Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse - I was slightly confused at first as it was listed under Bordeaux and the server told me it was a Chardonnay; but, then I remembered that it's from France and their wines are listed by region not varietal. Anyway, no skin off my nose, I love Chardonnays and Mark is learning to appreciate them. To make things better, it went perfectly with our shared appetizer of Scallop Tartare, with apple & tarragon creme fraiche. We have no idea how you do scallop tartare, trust me we discussed it, but it doesn't really matter because it was fantastic; and they clearly did it right because we didn't get food poisoning either ...
We'd decided before ordering our food to try their seasonally-inspired table d'hote menu, which is a 2 to 3 course option which changes regularly. Knowing our appetites and our inability to take leftovers we both opted for 2 courses, one of us ordered an appetizer and the other ordered dessert, makes sense. I've already mentioned the awesome scallop tartare as our appetizer. For main courses Mark had the cod with mushroom veloute, fried brandade, and parsnip puree; while I had flank with black curry sauce, roasted garlic and spinach puree, and duck fat fingerlings (shocking that I would order the dish that had both beef and duck fat potatoes, how unusual for me.) Both dishes were sublime, with an amazing variety of flavours that all worked together beautifully. The beef was perfectly cooked, medium-rare, and tender; always a concern. For dessert we had ... wait for it .... anyone guessed yet? Creme brulee! Okay was that really a surprise? French restaurant, my favourite dessert, no brainer. Their table d'hote version was ginger creme brulee with molasses shortbread and it was divine, just the right amount of ginger without being overwhelming, easy to do with ginger, and the shortbread was soft and delicious. We couldn't ask for a better dining experience to end our trip.
I would have happily gone to bed after this, I think Mark would have too, but our flight went out at 5 the next morning, meaning we needed to be up at 3 am, was there a point in paying for a night in a hotel? We went to "Unbroken", the WWII movie directed by Angelina Jolie about an Olympic athlete who winds up in a Japanese POW camp. It is a devastating movie to watch, as all these serious WWII movies are; but well filmed and acted, in my opinion. It was interesting to see a movie about the war being fought on the eastern side, as most of these movies are filmed in and about the German area.
Home in the wee hours ... never again will we fly home at 5 am, not if we can help it ...